


NY: Become Hero

by Petheticcreepyandcantgetgirls



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Blood and Violence, Eventual Smut, Fights, M/M, Minor Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Over worked Connor, Scars, Spiderman AU, self doubt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2019-10-12 01:59:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17458460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Petheticcreepyandcantgetgirls/pseuds/Petheticcreepyandcantgetgirls
Summary: Connor Stern, a hard-working student, studying criminology and law. He struggles to balance work and school while during all of his free time he is fighting to keep the city he calls home safe.Hank Anderson, a weathered police lieutenant who had it all and lost it all. The guilt of being able to walk away when his family couldn’t burdens his every day life but he swore he would keep living and fighting until the man responsible for his family’s death is behind bars or dead himself.The fates of these two lives intertwine and adventure, betrayal and romance ensue.





	1. Just A Day

**Author's Note:**

> I recently watched into the spiderverse and there was a moment where miles holds peter over a portal and all I could think of “Moment of truth Connor"
> 
> Lemme know if you like this concept, It's been forever and a half since I've written a story

He always enjoyed looking over the city at night. Being so high up, where the air felt cooler and fresh. There were no prying eyes up here. Connor could finally relax after a long day and just look out at the city that he loved. Here, there were never any stars to be seen but the bright flickering lights from down below were always good enough for him.

Taking a deep breath in, he finally let his body sag as he sat on top of one of the many buildings he had stashed a bag with a spare suit and granola bars, just in case. They had come in handy more than once.

He removed his mask and ran a hand through his flattened hair. Three years. It had been three years since the incident. The bite, the powers, the criminals… _Richard_ … He squeezed his eyes tight at the thought. It was never pleasant when the thought back to the beginning of all this. He had suffered through a lot.

But that was the past. He had to keep looking forward towards tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, he had a test in just a few hours at this point. Stealing a glance at the watch around his wrist he grimaced at the late hour… or early hour? Four AM on a school night was never the wisest of ideas. Then again, he never claimed to be the sharpest tool in the shed.

Standing, he placed the mask back on before leaping into the air. He allowed his body to plummet towards the earth. The sound of the wind rushed in his ears and the lights got closer and closer so bright he had to squint. It was always a rush. It made his heart pump and adrenalin swish throughout his body. No wonder he could never sleep.  Extending his arm, he let out a web and gracefully used the force of his fall to swing and launch himself in the direction of his apartment building. Maybe he could squeeze in a few hours of shut eye before class.

 _Maybe_.

* * *

 

It is true what they say about post-secondary education. It is nothing like high school. Everyone in class is there because everyone wants to be there. Or to be more accurate, everyone is there because they paid to be there and want to get their money's worth.

So when Connor walks in nobody exerts the effort to pick out his flaws or comment on the deep purple bags under his tired brown eyes. Everyone seems to have a pair of their own anyways. He smirks at the thought of that. Everyone must have been up studying all night.

He slowly makes his way to the middle of the class and takes a seat where he's always sat for this course. There is no assigned seating, but humans are creatures of habit and he finds he likes his spot. His eyes dance across the room as he takes in the familiar faces of his classmates, everyone here varies in age. There are some older students who are easily in their early forties and there are the others who are fresh out of high school. Connor had wished he could have gone straight from high-school to post-secondary but he had no support funds so he had to work for it himself.

As the clock struck 8:30 nearly all his classmates had sat in their spots, noses in their textbooks. Everyone was scrambling to get that extra cramming, everyone asides from Connor. He instead used his textbook as a pillow, forehead to book and eyes closed. He wasn’t sleeping, he was currently fighting off a major headache. Those happened a lot, especially when he sleeps for a total of 2 hours, wakes, and then proceeds to chug two cups of black coffee before even catching the sky train to get to class.

“You look like shit.” A familiar voice says from his right. He turns his head to make eye contact with North but doesn’t bother lifting his head from the book.

“When do I not in your eyes?” He can hear how rough his voice sounds.

North laughed bitterly and rolled her eyes before opening her own book to the current chapter they had been studying. Criminal Justice. “You just look extra shitty today, I guess.” She mused, keeping her eyes on the pages when she continued, “You ready for this test?”

Connor huffed and sat up straight. “Not as much as I’d like to be…” He opened the book and flipped to the correct page. Due to his late nigh activities he never really  studies as much as he should and he knew his grades had suffered.

He was an A+ student in high school, attending every class, studying every night and doing any and all extra credit work he could get his hands on.

That had helped him get a good job right after graduating, assisting at one of the country’s most brilliant corporations, Cyberlife. The company focused on many subjects from mechanic, engineering, chemistry, etc.… all with the goal and idealism that science is the way to a better future.

Since he had no education other than high school he didn’t spend too much time in labs, most of his work he spent bringing the ‘real’ workers their tools, notes, or coffees. It wasn’t much, but it looked good on a resume. Working there he had forged enough to move out of his mother’s and get his own place and with a hefty loan he was able to get into a good university.

Three years ago, if you asked, Connor would never had chosen a class like criminology. He would’ve liked to continue to work up the Cyberlife ladder and be one of those scientists, making things that could better the human experience.

Shit happens though, his world was flipped upside down and now he spends his nights fighting criminals that threaten the safety of the people who lived in this city.

Connor huffed out a curse in annoyance as he realized he let his brain wonder, his eyes may have been tracking the words on the page but he had forgotten to read and now he had to start again at the top of the page. He half expected North to comment but when he looked over he found her eyes glued to the page. He wished he could get his mind to be that concentrated on one thing. He turned his attention back to his book, he had to get some studying in.

 

When the clock struck 8:40 their teacher finally walked in. _10 minutes late, typical_ , Connor thought. He liked his teacher however, he felt like he lacked a form of professionalism. Always running late but still expected all of his students to be on time.

His teacher preferred to be called by his first name instead of his last. He had claimed it would make them closer as a class. At the time of that statement Connor had rolled his eyes. He went along with it though, not wanting to disrespect his wishes, he just felt weird going up to a man who was supposed to be his superior and just calling him Josh.

Josh placed his bag on his desk and pulled out his laptop. He set it down before addressing the class.

"Good morning." his voice was much too cheery and awake for the atmosphere in the classroom that morning. Regardless, he continued, "I trust you all studied and reviewed the practice quiz we had yesterday. After I hand out the test you have approximately two and a half hours to complete it. If you finish before this time, you're more than welcome to leave as we have no other lectures scheduled today."

There was slight murmur of chit chat among the room as everyone closed their books and placed them in their bags or under their tables while Josh walked around the room and placed the test upside in front of each student.

Once everyone had one, Josh walked back towards the front of the class and looked up at the clock. He watched the second hand tick towards the twelve. Once it hit, beginning the start of a new minute he turned to them all and smiled. "Begin."

There was the sound of pages fluttering as everyone rushed to get to the questions as fast of possible.

Connor wrote out his name on the top before reading over the first question. He read it over once, then twice before he moved on to the next one and proceeded to read them over and over again. He could feel the pulse in his temples grow as he began to realize he didn't know any of these answers.

He flipped the page and read over the next questions hoping there was something he could see that was familiar to him. As Connor continued to flip over the pages his mouth got dryer and his palms sweaty.

He could hear so very clearly the sound of everyone around him writing frantically. Soon, that was all he could focus on. The sound of everybody else writing, knowing the things that he didn't know.

Quickly he flipped back to the first page and just began to write. What he was writing about he didn't know. He just didn't want to be the only one not writing anything.

* * *

 

“Fuck me…” Connor sighed as he walked out of the classroom. He was one of the last few to leave the room and he couldn’t have been more embarrassed when he handed his test to Josh for grading. Just knowing he was going to read over Connor’s bullshit answers tonight, he could picture the disappointment on his face.

He walked out of the building and headed straight for the Skytrain station, quickly deciding that he needed a good sleep before tonight. He had no work until tomorrow so he had plenty of time to rest his eyes.

 

Connor definitely wasn’t a people person, so standing on a train for forty minutes with people surrounding him, breathing down his neck stressed him out and sent his senses into overdrive. Before his abilities came into play he had always been touchy about his personal space. Now it was so much worse. He could hear everything louder, smell more scents and fragrances, notice more gestures and moods coming off of people.

Simply put, it was overwhelming.

He couldn’t describe the relief he felt every time he stepped out of the crowded cart. He wasted no time heading towards home.

 

Walking up the seven flights of stairs to get to his apartment used to tire him out, although he was tired the stairs didn’t phase him anymore. He could walk stairs forever and not feel that ache in his legs that he used to.

His body sang praise when he got to his door and stepped inside his small place. He had a tiny studio apartment, it wasn’t much but it was his. His bed was tucked up against the right side and two doors were on the left. One to the very small kitchen and other to the extremity small bathroom. A desk stood between the two destinations with a clutter of papers and tools. His desk was the only messy part of his apartment, everything else clean and put away in its proper spot.

He placed his bag on his desk and then plugged his phone into charge. He didn’t bother stripping, instead he crawled onto his bed fully clothed and shoved his face in his pillow willing the world around him to disappear and praying quietly that this time there wouldn’t be any nightmares.

 

 

 

 


	2. Second Chances

It was chilly tonight, clouds covered the sky and a strong wind howled making Connor shiver. Although his suit was great for not restricting his movement, it didn’t protect him from the weather. He could see his breath puff in small clouds before getting wisped away by the wind. He wouldn’t complain too much about tonight’s forecast, it wasn’t raining and for that reason, he was content.

Tonight, he perched himself up high enough to scan the city, it was fairly early in his patrol, only being out for half an hour. He had managed to get some decent, dreamless sleep. It was always a blessing when he managed to pull that off. He felt refreshed and ready for any and all trouble that came his way.

His eyes trailed along the city line and he smiled when he spotted exactly what his was looking for. Without hesitation he jumped and hastily raced towards that familiar pulsing light of red and blue.

A stream of police cars sang out their sirens, urging cars in their path to kindly get the fuck out of the way. They rushed towards their dangerous designation.

Connor found himself above them, swinging himself between buildings. He kept up easily, trusting them to lead him to where there were people who needed his help.

As they got closer, he soon realized there was no set spot, it was a chase. Just a few blocks in front of them he could make out two large black SUV’s speeding away and crashing or pushing away any car that dare be too slow. From one of the cars, someone simply had their hand out the window, not bothering to even see where they were shooting. They fired randomly in the general direction of the officers giving chase.   _Now that’s not safe_. Connor thought.

He pushed himself a little bit harder to gain on the vehicles. Getting in front of the cop cars he let go from his web. He twisted his body, gracefully soaring in the air. He could feel bullets fly past him, the twinge at the back of his skull telling his instincts how to react and move his body to avoid getting hurt.

He used to get hurt a lot when he first started all of this. That screaming in his head yelling _DANGER_ and having those fight or flight instincts wanting to take over his body. It used to confuse him and then he’d panic and freeze. That resulted in him taking many unnecessary hits, leaving his body broken, bruised and riddled in scars. He had never taken any fighting or self defense classes, he just had a feeling and it was hard to learn to just listen and let his body follow.

Now it was second nature to him.

He landed on one of the vehicles with a soft thud. Sometimes he felt like a dancer with his unnatural grace and flexibility.

Again, that pinch at the back of his skull screamed _MOVE_! His body reacted faster than thought as the roof he was on erupted with a wave of bullets.

Sticking to the side of the vehicle he looked into the passenger side making eye contact with one of the men. The fear in his eyes made Connor smirk and he decided to give a cocky little wave at the perp before thrusting his fist through the window. He grabbed the collar of the man’s shirt and pulled him out of the window. “Enjoy your trip.”

The guy struggled for a moment before hearing the masked man’s words, “Wh-what!?”

Connor grinned and threw the guy behind him. The scream he heard echoed against the buildings as the guy flew. Casually, he shot a web after him to make sure he wouldn’t bust his skull against the side walk.

Out of the suit, Connor would describe himself as quiet and respectful. In the suit was a different story, the confidence he felt pulsed through him and he could let his quick wit out into the world with much fewer consequences.

Slipping in through the broken window he grabbed the wheel of the car.

“Hey! Fuck you! Let go!” The driver screamed at him as he unsuccessfully tried to fight against Connor’s strong grip. With a sharp turn of the wheel the car swung much to fast for its momentum and began to flip.

One roll, two roll… and half of one more. The car stopped upside down on its roof.

Connor turned to look at the driver. He gave him a poke in the cheek, “You good dude?”

The guys face was turning pink from being suspended upside down and his eyes looked to be permanently open and wide. “F-f-… Fuck you, Spiderman…”

Connor snickered, “You’re not my type.”

With little effort he slipped out the car and continued on foot running after black care number two. He could hear the sirens of the cop cars behind him, some stopping to grab the criminals while others followed and gained on Connor.

Admittedly, Connor wasn’t as fast on foot but he could see his target in front of him. He planted his feet and shot out a web, then another and one more. To his pleasure, all three stuck around the car and he grabbed hold tightly.

The sudden jolt of the car caused him to slip forward slightly. With a grunt of effort, he pulled back. The tires of the car spun in one place causing smoke to rush up. Three cop cars passed him, driving right up to the stopped car and officers stepped out, firearms drawn.

Their aggressive voices yelled out commands for the perps to get out of the vehicle. After a moment Connor could feel the loss of resistance from the car as the men came out with their hands above their heads.

There was always an immense sense of pride that would flow throughout his body when he was able to help, a pleasant feeling that he had never felt before all of this. He watched as the officers cuffed the criminals with a satisfied grin on his face, though no one could see, to everyone watching he seemed stoic as he looked over his handywork.

His muscles ached slightly from that intense tug of war between him and the SUV. He rolled his shoulders trying to stretch out just a bit to alleviate that pain.

Then, there it was. That twinge. _BEHIND YOU_

Connor spun on his heals, ready for a fight. What his eyes settled on were three officers, guns drawn and aimed at him.

"Alright, _Spiderman_ , hands above your head!" One of the officers shouted at him. He was a fairly large man that held a firm scowl on his older features, he would probably be intimidating to anyone else. But Connor had the pleasure of facing off against some grotesque monsters, people didn't scare him much anymore.

He knew the law had very mixed opinions on him. Some officers liked him and worked with him while others made it very clear that they did not like him at all.

"Really?" Connor sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "You realize I just helped you guys, right?"

"Shut the fuck up and put your fucking hands above your head!" The officer barked as he stepped forwards towards Connor.

Connor just rolled his eyes, though nobody could see him do that. "Yeah, yeah fine, calm down." He complied to the officer’s request and raised his hands above his head. He had time to mess around with these guys. He didn't miss the look of surprise from the other two.

Once the officer lowered his gun the twinge in the back of Connor's skull dissipated. The man stepped closer reaching for a pair of cuffs.

"Listen, getting arrested really doesn't fit with my schedule," Connor started, his voice was sweet, "can I take a rain check?"

"You have the right to remain silent, so can you shut the fuck up?" The man was super annoyed already. Connor knew that he was crossing a line, but this man was too easy to mess with.

"No, I talk when I'm stressed, it’s how I cope with anxiety."

The officer rolled his eyes and walked around Connor, grabbing both of his wrists in his large hands.

"Oh, you're strong. You work out?"

"I said," he pushed Connor's head forwards in annoyance, "shut up!"

Connor heard the cuffs jingle and decided now would probably be the time to leave. With a quick shift, Connor thrust his head back, just enough to strike the officer in the face, not enough to break his nose or anything, but enough to make the man stumble backyards. He twisted and freed his wrist from the officers hold and jumped a good five feet away from him, landing on top of one of the squad cars.

The other officers turned and aimed their guns at him again but that twinge never came back, these guys had no intention of shooting him. The other guy must be their commanding officer.

He got a good look at the officer's stunned face and gave him a cheeky salute. Before any command could have been shouted Connor shot a web and leap away from the scene.

He laughed as he heard the man curse out in the distance.

 

* * *

 

 

The next morning, Connor timidly stepped into the class room late. He had gotten home late again the night before and had forgotten to set his alarm. He released a tense breath when he saw his teacher wasn’t there yet and quickly rushed to his seat beside North.

“You’re late.”

“Doesn’t count, still here before Josh.” Connor rebutted quickly.

North smiled at him. They had strange relationship. Never had North actually been _nice_ to him but never him to her either. Despite that, he considered North to be someone he really liked. For sure his favorite person in the class. She was honest, he liked that in a person.

“How’d you do on the test?” It was a simple question that made his smile fall and his shoulders slump.

“Oh god, please don’t bring that up.” He huffed and ran a tired hand through his hair.

North snickered, “That bad, huh?”

“Yeah, what about you?” He passed the attention towards herself.

“Well...” She started.

“Connor,” Josh’s voice cut through their conversation and Connor’s body tensed at the words, he hadn’t even seen him walk in. “Would you please come over here.”

 He slowly stood from his chair and walked forwards to the front of the class.

Connor could feel eyes on him, the back of his head felt hot and tingly from the stares of his classmates. When he got to the front Josh gave him a weak smile. Connor could place it easily, pity.

In his teacher’s hands was the test from yesterday, “Connor… I think you know the exact reason why I called you over.” He spoke in a hushed voice which Connor was grateful for, the last thing he wanted was the entire class eaves dropping on this conversation. Connor just nodded and waited for Josh to continue.

Josh handed the test back to Connor and he felt a weight drop in his stomach. “I expected much more Connor, and unfortunately with this test grade and your grade from last subject you are in danger of loosing your loan and possibly being pulled out of class.”

Connor’s eyes grew wide and he looked away from the test in his hand to look at his teacher, “What? No, no… Sir, you don’t understand I can’t fail… I’ve never failed a class in my life!” He noticed how loud he was and struggled to bring his volume down, “Please, c-can I do a re-test or do extra work to bring up my grade?”

Josh sucked in a breath, he looked skeptical of Connor’s willingness to do more. In the class Connor had always done the minimum teetering along that line of just passing. “I don’t-“

“Please… I can’t fail this.” Connor whispered, god he felt pathetic.

Josh was quiet for a moment, considering Connor it seemed, “Well, there _is_ a project that was in the outline but we didn’t go through it because I found it to be over complicated and time consuming.” Josh turned and opened one of his drawers. It took a good minute for him to shuffle through his papers before pulling out a small booklet, no more then four pages stapled together. He passed it to him and Connor took it eagerly. “The reason we didn’t do this is because you’d be out of class for three days.”

Connor looked down at the papers in his hand and read the title: Work Placement Essay

“Work placement…?” Connor questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, this school has a contract with a department of the NYPD where students shadow an officer for three days, watch them work, ask questions, and then at the end of three days write a 10 page, single space essay.”

Connor stayed quiet, though his excitement grew slightly. Not so much about the essay but getting to see the inner working of the NYPD.

“If you are willing to give up this weekend and miss one class on Monday I will talk with the department and see if with can get you set up with an officer to shadow.”

“Yes. Yes definitely! I am more than willing!” He beamed. Doing this would certainly much more exciting then doing a stupid re-rest.

Josh smiled softly at him, “Alright, I will email you tonight with the details, but Connor… If you don’t complete this by the Tuesday you return to class, I have to fail you. Do you understand?”

“Yes sir, thank you Josh, I won’t let you down.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy people are actually reading this!  
> THANK YOU  
> I wanna know what you guys are thinking!


	3. Just My Luck, Eh?

The rain and wind of the evening matched Connors mood. The water soaked right into his suit making him feel uncomfortably moist and the wind blew hard, forcing the already cold water to get even colder on Connor’s body. He had managed to take cover after patrolling around in the rain. He sat hutched down and balancing on a flag mast that jutted out under a balcony.

His day had been shit, even after getting the new assignment and second chance the rest of class sucked. Everyone else had gotten their tests back shortly after his talk and no one would shut up about their marks. Just thinking back on it made him huffed in annoyance. Sure, it wasn’t their fault he failed, but he sure as hell knew he had a better reason for not studying then anyone else in the room.

Work had been just as shit. The usual man he assisted had called in a personal day, meaning he had been reassigned to help out with another scientist. Carl Manfred, the man Connor usually assisted for was focused in biology, living things. Currently studying certain geckos and axolotls for their regenerative abilities. Interesting work. The old man never had issues with Connor reading his notes or asking questions. He made the simple job Connor did feel useful, especially since the man couldn’t walk. Connor would happily assist just by wheeling him around the lab.

Today Carl had spent the day with his son’s, leaving Connor to Elija Kamski, total douche. His work was much different, didn’t even work on the same floor as Carl. He worked on the top floor, in electronics and robotics. It was cool but whenever Connor would ask a question Kamski would frown at him and tell him to clean something before getting back to his work and ignoring Connor.

Connor managed to leave 10 minutes early, fleeing from the building as fast as he could. He stripped and changed in an ally way and has been roaming around the soaked city ever since.

With a sigh Connor decided to head back to his apartment and prepare for tomorrow. He was expected at the NYPD at 8 am and it was already nearing 1 am.

Bracing the weather he lept away from his dry-ish sanctuary and into the miserable down poor. Nothing truly monumental or life changing had happened that day but for some reason it had left him feeling worn and tired. While swinging through the rain Connor felt distracted, mind scattered and numb but his body was in auto drive, going through the motions to get home home. 

 

_BELOW YOU_

 

The twinge pricked at the back of his mind. He released his hold on his web and stuck to the nearest building, his entire body on high alert. His eyes roamed the streets looking for someone looking at him, someone in danger, a bomb, a car on fire, anything that would put himself or others in danger.

His eyes settled on a familiar scowl, the cop from the other night.

The man wasn’t looking at Connor though, the man was in the middle of arresting two people and was currently giving them a pat down.

He swept the scene for danger again but found none, his eyes constantly being drawn back to the officer below him who was now shoving the two into the back of his patrol car mumbling curses at the guys who struggled and resisted.

It happened in a split second, one of the guys threw his entire body weight against the officer, freeing himself and took off running down the street, arms still cuffed behind his back.

The officer reacted quickly and slammed the door closed, locking the other inside the caged back of his patrol car before he took off running.

Connor almost laughed at the scene but decided it was inappropriate and made his move to intervene, help make this chase short. With a large jump he reached his arm out aiming at a street light and used his fall for momentum before flinging himself, speeding towards the fleeing man.

With his inhumanly precise aim he landed gracefully on the back of the perp forcing him to the ground with a painful grunt, his weight (though he didn't way that of an average man his age) forced the air out of the criminals lungs.

And there it was, the warm feeling speeding through his body again, removing the tension form the shit day. He no longer cared that he was soaked to the bone. He had done something good today. He was able to help out and make the city a little safer. Every bit counts.

His mood was quickly destroyed as his body re-tensed up, prepping for a fight.

_DUCK_

He followed his instincts without second thought, crouching low and waiting for a shot to go off but nothing happened. He swirled his head around until his eyes found the aging face of the cop from the night before. Con smirked under his mask, ready to say something to make the officer curse at him, make his night more interesting. He would do anything to distract him from the rest of his day, but the man beneath him wiggled and whined, “I’m sorry!” He cried pitifully, “I won’t run again, I swear! Just get off me!”

Connor didn’t pay any attention to him; his eyes were still glued to the officer who still had his gun trained on him, his eyes never leaving Connor’s form.

“Take two steps back and put your hands behind your head.” His voice was eerily calm, that and the pinch in his mind that never went away made a shiver go down Connor’s spine.

He hesitated for a brief moment before decided to comply, but he didn’t place his hands over his head.

The officer eyed him up and down and then looked over at the man on the ground, almost as if he was considering something. With a frustrated grunt he rolled his eyes and holstered his firearm back onto his hip. He gave Connor one last look before walking over to his perp cuffed and whimpering on the ground.

“You coulda made the shot... Why didn't you?” He couldn’t help the question.  It was obvious he didn’t like Spiderman, he's met more the his fair share of dirty cops... and even dirtier criminals.

“You’re not worth the paper work.”  He grunted as he hoisted the criminal up by his forearm.

Nothing else was said between them, the officer simply walked away with perp in tow.

He didn’t know why, but that interaction brought his sour mood back. He was left alone in the cold street being rained on. He stood there for a moment longer before walking back to his apartment. Only bothering to climb up high when he was home so no one would see ‘ _Spiderman_ ’ walking into his apartment building.

 

 

The next morning he felt strangely optimistic, he got up 5 minutes before his alarm and completely went through his closet looking for the nicest thing he owned. His mother taught him at a young age that first impressions were the most important thing on a first day anywhere. It formed people's opinions on you.

At the end of his search he settled on a pair of dark skinny jeans, a belt and a white button-up that he tucked into his jeans. He only had one pair of dress shoes so he had to go along with those, they were black so they didn't clash with his entire outfit at least.

He quickly ate some toast and brushed teeth. Last thing he had to do was grab his assignment, he didn't want to be walking around with his backpack all day so he had grabbed himself a binder so he could keep it with him at all times without looking like a child.

One last check, he patted all his pockets to make sure he had his wallet, key and phone and then he was out the door.

Lucky for him the department wasn't too far, with the proper cut through alleyways he could make it there in roughly 15 to 20 minutes.

When he arrived the place was booming, cops and citizens everywhere. It was overwhelming, worst in the bus. His palms felt sweaty as he stepped in the building and headed towards the front desk.

A kind looking lady was sitting there typing away at a computer, she barely acknowledged him when he walked up to her.

"Hi, I'm the college student, I'm supposed to be shadowing a officer today...?" He hated how nervous his voice came out.

She finally turned her attention away from the computer and onto Connor. She gave him a quick glance up and down. "Yes, I was told to be expecting you." She seemed polite but her tone sounded bored. "You can head over inside, head straight to the office, you can't miss it. It's at the back of the room. There you will see captain Fowler who will show you to your assigned officer."

He nodded a thanks and did just that, unconsciously hugging his binder to his chest as he walked passed all the officer’s desks.

He couldn't help but spot a few news papers that some officers were reading with the headline: HERO? MORE LIKE ZERO. With an unfortunate picture of him in the middle of falling the ground. He remembered that fight, he was on top a building downtown when large man known as Kraven the hunter threw him off the roof.

That was two weeks ago, finally the bruising from the fight had dissipated.

The woman at the front was right, the office was very hard to miss. He walked his way up the small staircase and knocked on the door.

The man inside barked out a quick, "what!?" Which Connor took as an ok to poke his head into the room. 

"Hi, my name is Connor Stern... I'm here from-"

"I know who you are," the captain interrupted, "I just got off the phone with your teacher."

"O-oh...?" Connor slowly stepped into the room completely but stayed near the door, quick escape if he needed it. 

"Yes, Josh was just informing me of the task you have ahead. I have assigned you an officer after careful consideration, he has successfully closed a case as of last night and will now have a little more free time to answer questions."

Connor nodded but stayed quiet. He was nervous, and he had a nervous mouth. Last thing he wanted to do was screw it all up by saying something stupid. He watched the captain rise from his chair and walk around the desk. "I'll take you to him now, but he probably won't be here yet. He tends to come in a little later," He grumbled, "And especially when he has long nights. You can wait at his desk, use this free time now to start writing on your essay, think about questions you want to ask him."

Connor nodded again and followed the man outside of the room and back into the commotion.

He was led to a desk off to the side and Connor gave the captain a small thank you before he left. Alone, Connor finally took in the desk. The first thing he noticed was slanderous headlines and articles about the one and only _Spider-Man_. He huffed bitterly and rolled his eyes, because of course the man he had been assigned to shadow would be someone who didn't like him.

He told himself to keep in mind that it was only going to be 3 days, 3 days he gets to be out working in the field, at an actual precinct. This was much cooler than any school work.

He sat down at the desk an took a look at everything else, ignoring the articles. The man had a dying bonsai tree on his desk, he could relate to that. The one time Connor had plants he took in a cactus, hardy plants. He managed to kill that in less then a month. He over watered the poor thing. There was a box of opened donuts with two left in it, an old mug of coffee and what seemed to be an old photo with a bunch of cops. He reached for picture to get a closer look when a gruff voice huffed out, "Who the fuck are you?"

In the same moment that pinch returned in his mind.

Connor froze.

"Well? Who the fuck are you and why are you at my desk?"

Connor knew that voice. He turned locked eyes with that officer from the night before. He opened his mouth to introduce himself but he was speechless, all he could do was think ' _just my fucking luck_.'


	4. Answers

It took him a moment to fully regain control of his body and close his mouth. He swallowed the lump in his throat and made eye contact with the older man in front of him.

He’d seen him before, but those times were in passing. Too many things going on to distract him. Now, face to face and one on one he could take in his features. He was older then Connor, yes but not as old as he had initially pinned him. Weathered was a better description then old, Connor thought. His hair was grey and long, it matched his beard. It was damp, as though he had showered before coming into work and hadn’t dried completely. He was taller than Connor, not by much but enough for Connor to notice that he was taller.

His eyes were a sky shade of blue and the way they seemed to focus on his own face made his cheeks warm ever so slightly. Then he watched the mans brows furrow with annoyance, his blush deepened as he came to the realisation that this man was still waiting for Connor to answer him.

Hastily, Connor stuck his arm out in front of himself, offering his hand to shake. “S-sorry,” He noticed his stutter and scolded himself internally, “My name is Connor Stern.” He offered a smile with his introduction and waited for him to shake his hand.

The man’s eye brow rose and he eyed Connor’s offered hand, he huffed in annoyance. He ignored the hand and looked back up at Connor, “Yeah ok, but that doesn’t answer my other question. Why they hell are you at my desk?”

Connor took his hand back from the empty space looking just as puzzled as the officer, “Uh, I’m the student… Shadowing you this weekend…”

The expression on his face shifted very quickly from confusion to rage and the pinch in the back of his skull got more pronounced. It took everything of his self control not to jump back and climb the wall to get as far way from this man as possible. _Public space_ , he reminded himself, _and everyone can see your face._

The man started towards him and Connor panicked, side stepping away from him. It took only a moment to realize that he wasn’t heading towards him but towards the office, muttering something along the lines of, “Like hell you are.”

Watching the man storm off and burst into the captain’s office made Connor’s stomach squeeze with uneasiness. Had he not been informed of Connor’s presence?

He flinched as the door was slammed loudly behind the man, the loud sound made everyone in the room quiet for just a moment, long enough to hear the muffled sound of arguing behind said door.

Connor huffed and let the tension out of his shoulders as the pinch lessened in pressure, it never went away though, just a slight pulse that he could easily ignore. That interaction was unreasonably complicated but he wasn’t going to let it bother him. Three days, he reminded himself.

 He didn’t even end up getting his damn name. He looked down and did a quick scan of the desk, finding his name plaque he grabbed it to investigate it. He read the name silently to himself. Det. Anderson H. 

The sound of the office door clicked behind him and again he flinched when the door was slammed shut.

“Put that back.” The detective barked, “And move outta my way.”

Connor obliged hastily and turned out of the way, watching him take a seat and log into his computer. His face was noticeably more red and his body was tense. Connor didn’t know what to do at this point, so he stood beside Detective Anderson hugging his binder to his chest staring at him, waiting to be instructed on what to do or where to go.

A good two minutes passed and Connor grew bored of waiting, he cleared his throat to get the older mans attention.

The detective huffed and turned in his chair to face him fully, “What.”

“Is there… a spare chair or something…” He tried to make his voice sound a bit more deep, confident. Which it didn’t, but at minimum he had tried.

Detective Anderson shook his head, annoyance clear in what seemed to be a permanent furrow of his brow, he gestured with a hand to the desk across from his, “No ones sittin’ in that one.”

He said it as if it was the most obvious thing and Connor felt his cheeks darken, feeling dumb for not noticing that there was no name plaque and the lack of personal nick nacks on the table there. Quickly, in a rush to not make himself look more stupid, he took a seat across from the detective and placed his binder on the desk and opened it. The booklet Josh had given him had some suggested questions, but It did encourage him to make his own.

First question on the list, Name:

Connor sighed and looked back up at the man who seemed to be completely focused with whatever was on his computer, favoring his attention there instead of him.

“Can I start asking you questions?”

He didn’t even bother looking at him, “Hmm?”

“Questions.” Connor said, a little bit more sternly.

“Uhhh, yeah… sure, whatever.” He huffed and finally turned to look at Connor across the desk.

Connor smiled and looked back down at the questions, all seemed simple and fairly straight forward. He found he didn’t care about what these answers were, he wanted to know other things that might be more interesting.

“Why did you get stuck mentoring me?”

The detective’s eye brows shot up in surprise and Connor smiled, felt good catching this jerk off guard.

The older man stuttered for a second, “Excuse me?”

“Well, its obvious you don’t want anything to do with me, let alone want me following you around all day. So why were you picked to be my mentor? Surely someone else around here wouldn’t mind.” Connor gestured out towards the busy work room, he also wouldn’t mind being paired up with someone else.

“That is something I don’t have to tell you.”

Connor found that this guy only had two expressions, angry and annoyed.

Normally Connor wouldn’t push people’s buttons, well… not outside the suit, but from the moment he met this guy he’d been nothing but rude, brash and aggressive. Plus today, in his place of work was no different towards him. However, he wasn’t _Spiderman_ today, today he was just a student looking for answers for his project. So that meant this guy treated everyone like shit, that’s what pissed Connor off the most. Assholes being assholes for no reason.

“Ok, can you at least tell me your name.”

“Its Detective Anderson, you can’t read?” He said pointing to his plaque.

“You don’t have a first name?”

Connor tried not to smile as he watched this rude man grumble something under his breath before rolling his eyes, “Hank.” He bit out.

Connor did smile then as he reached for a pen and neatly wrote in his binder, _Detective Hank Anderson_ in the first blank of the questions. It was a start.

For the next hour and twenty minutes Connor continued to ask the detective the most plain and generic questions from his booklet with Hank begrudgingly answering them with as little detail as possible.

By the time Connor was running out of pre-made questions he was getting bored. He sighed and closed his binder, leaning back in the chair. He folded his arms over his chest and looked at the monitor on the desk. It was locked, asking for a password that he obviously did not have.

“What, done already are we?” Hank said dryly.

“For now.”

Connor cracked his neck one way and then the other, “So, do you just sit at your desk all day, or…”

“I sit when I have reports I have to fill out. Taken me longer today cause _somebody’s_ been distracting me.” Hank’s eyes never left his monitor, his fingers tapping away at his key bored at an irritatingly slow pace.

Again, Connor found himself studying him, the longer he stared at him the more he liked what he was looking at. He was a handsome man, Connor couldn’t deny that. Too bad he was an ass.

Even if he wasn’t an ass, Connor would never be able to ask him out. Grab a drink with him, even have a one night stand. Nor with anyone really. Ever since what happened, _happened_ he couldn’t begin to think about a relationship. He could barley keep up with his life, let alone be apart of someone else’s.  His days he kept busy with school and work, and he was out every single night.

He didn’t have many friends, and the ones he did have he hung out with them either at school or work, where he knew them. Connor never had people at his place and never went out with anyone.

It sounded sad, but that’s how he was before. He never was a social person, smart yes. He survived high school just fine, keeping to himself and _Richard_.

Connor paused his thoughts and sat up in his chair. He tried not to allow his thoughts to wander that far away from himself. With a big breath in he stood up, “I need Coffee…” He muttered.

Hank glanced over to him and shook his head, “Coffee machines one the frits.” He typed for a moment more before saving and logging off his desktop. He stood and grabbed his coat, “But, it is about time I stretch my legs.” Hank walked passed Connor, who stared at Hank's back as he walked past him.

Again, he found himself confused.

“You coming?” Hank asked over his shoulder.

With eager strides Connor found himself beside Hank, “We going out into the field?” He felt a little buzzed with a new energy and excitement

Hank snorted, “No. Lunch.”

And with that, Connor’s excitement sizzled away. With Slumped shoulders he followed Hank to his patrol car.

\---

Connor had never ridden in a police car before, and he certainly had never ridden in the back of a police car. That’s where he found himself though, Hank refusing to let Connor sit up front with him. He didn’t like it, being caged in like this stressed him out a fair bit. His mind coming up with plan A to plan Z on how to get out of it. Really all he needed to do was give the door one firm kick and he’d be free, that would raise some eyebrows though.

A thought did make him smile, if this detective knew who he had sitting, locked away in the back of his care he’d flip.

When the car stopped Connor was a little shocked that Hank did open the door for him to get out. Silently he followed him across the rainy street to a run-down looking food cart. Its yellow neon sign reading ‘CHICKEN FEED’ reflected off the wet pavement and made his sensitive eyes sting slightly.

Hank headed over to the till while Connor sought shelter under an umbrellaed stand table. Tomorrow he would remember a coat.

When Hank wandered over he set his food and drink down at the table, “You not getting any?”

He shook his head tiredly, “I didn’t bring any money for food.” He said patting his front jean pockets for emphasis.

“Did you pack a lunch and leave it at the station?”

Again he shook his head.

“How long you following me around for today?”

“Till five.”

Hank stared at him, “That’s a full fucking day, you gotta eat kid.” The worry on his face didn’t match the personality of the man he met earlier today at the station. Maybe he had just caught him in a bad mood.

Connor shrugged, “I’ll eat when I get home.”

Hank rolled his eyes and began eating his burger while Connor lazily tapped his fingers on the table while he stared off into a puddle, watching the reflection morph as it rippled in the rain.

“You want me to buy you something?” Hank spoke up, Connor’s head spun over to him in mild surprise. He had not been expecting that.

“N-no, that’s really not necessary Detective.” His face was heating up.

“You said you needed coffee.” Hank reached into his pocket and pulled out a few wrinkly one dollar bills, “Here.” He placed the pile on the table.

Again, Connor declined, pushing the small pile closer to Hank, “Thank you, but I’m fine, I’ll have some when I get home.”

Hank stared down at the pile but didn’t reach for it and just rolled his eyes before going back to eating his burger. Admittedly, now it felt awkward. Just standing there, not saying anything.

He was never good at making friends, “So… I’ve been asking you questions all morning. Got any for me?”

Hank snorted again, shaking his head as he swallowed a bite, “Yeah, I got one. Why you the only kid from your school being paired up with an officer.”

His face flushed with mild shame, his arms defensively wrapping around himself, “I failed a few tests…” His voice was quiet, “Without this extra credit I could get kicked out of school.”

“Oh…” Obviously Hank had not been expecting that answer.

Connor was quick to change the subject, “You ever going to answer my earlier question?”

“I answered all your stupid questions.”

“Not the first one.” Connor gave him a weak grin, “Why did you get stuck mentoring me?”

Hank grumbled something as he shoved the last of the burger into his mouth. He took his time chewing and after his swallow he took an irritatingly long sip of his drink. “I went against the Captains orders and went on a stake out alone last night.” He didn’t sound ashamed at all, “It was a complete successes and I managed to take down two high-list drug dealers.” His smile could only be described as cocky. "But, still against orders so... I'm stuck _babysitting_ "

Connor rolled his eyes at the term but brushed it off quickly. He wanted to get Hank's take on the night before. He gave him a cheeky grin and raised an eyebrow, “Really, you did that all by yourself? Impressive”

Hanks smile dropped slightly, “Well, minus some interference, but essentially, yes.”

“Interference?”

With a loud slurp Hank finished off the last of his drink before grumbling, “Mr. tights had to make a fucking appearance.”

Connor hid his grin, “Spider-man helped you out?”

“Absolutely not.” Hank growled and squeezed his empty cup tightly, squishing it. Connor felt his stomach drop. “Nothing that _freak_ does is helping. Last night he comes out of fucking nowhere and drops my guy. Broke two of his fucking ribs. Instead of me being able to interrogate him he spent the night in a hospital.”

He could feel his own face pale. "Oh..." 

"Yeah, fucker's been mucking with my work too much. Do you know how much extra fucking paperwork I have to deal with whenever he show's up?"

He just shook his head and silently listened to the rest of Hank's rant. 

Timidly, when they were heading back to the patrol car, Connor turned to Hank, "Is there any particular reason you despise Spider-man so much." 

Hank stared at him for a good long moment before opening the back door of the car to usher Connor in. Connor did so, looking up at Hank from his seat, "I have my reasons." Hank muttered before closing the door, locking him once again in the back. 

They headed back to the precinct and Hank ended up showing Connor some of his old case’s and promised that tomorrow he’d take him out to see what being on a patrol was like but Connor was fairly quiet for the rest of the day, an uneasy weight had been left in his chest.

Connor didn’t even notice he was home until he was standing in front of his mirror, slowly slipping off his shirt and pants until he was looking at himself.

His knees seemed to be permanently bruised, ankles coloured in matching blue, black and sickly yellows. A large pink bite scar stood out against his pale left shoulder. Looking at it forced memories he'd rather repress back into the front of his mind. 

Three bullet wounds littered his body, two on his left thigh and one on his left abdomen. That one was healing well, considering that one was only from a month ago. 

Everything healed fast but it left him scarred. Physically, mentally.

He met his own tired eyes in the mirror.

Taking himself in as a hole, one word kept echoing in his head. The best word he’d been described as.

 

 _Freak_.


End file.
